Refrigeration device comprising an ice reservoir

ABSTRACT

A refrigeration device is provided that includes a housing enclosing an interior and an ice reservoir, arranged in the interior, having an output opening and accommodating a stirrer. The ice reservoir can be pivoted between two positions that are different with respect to the height of the output opening.

The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigerator or combination fridge-freezer with a built-in ice dispenser.

A refrigeration appliance of this type is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,627 A. The ice dispenser arranged in an interior of the refrigeration appliance comprises a storage tank for icecubes and a stirrer that is rotatable about an axis that extends through the storage tank. The base of the elongated storage tank slopes toward one of its ends so that icecubes stored in the storage tank tend to move toward this end when the stirrer is rotated. At this end a dispensing chamber is connected to the storage chamber, via which the icecubes move into a channel that runs through the housing of the refrigeration appliance and into the open air. Blades arranged in the dispensing chamber are capable of being switched from an operating state in which icecubes can pass through the dispensing chamber intact, and an operating state in which said blades crush the icecubes.

Icecubes are brought into the dispensing chamber with each rotation of the stirrer. If the stirrer is rotated without the icecubes being able to reach the open air, there is a danger of a blockage occurring. If the stirrer is only rotated when ice is actually to be dispensed, the periods of time between successive actuations of the stirrer can become very long, and there is the danger of icecubes freezing together in the storage tank, and of the stirrer becoming blocked.

A further example of a refrigeration appliance with ice dispenser is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,355 B2. Here too a stirrer extends lengthwise through a storage tank with an dispensing opening at one longitudinal end. The stirrer is realized partly as a helix and partly as a worm in order, through its rotation, to propel icecubes located in the storage tank in the direction of the dispensing opening. The problem arises here too that the stirrer can only be actuated when the ice being conveyed can be dispensed, and that icecubes can therefore freeze together in the storage tank if no ice is dispensed for a long time.

The object of the present invention is to create a refrigeration appliance with an ice storage tank in which a stirrer can also be actuated even if no simultaneous dispensing of ice is desired.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that, in the case of a refrigeration appliance having a housing that encloses an interior and, arranged in said interior, a storage tank with an dispensing opening, with a stirrer being arranged in said storage tank, the ice storage tank is pivotable between two positions that are distinguished by the height of the dispensing opening. The pivoting movement of the storage tank can ensure that icecubes set in motion by the movement of the stirrer tend to move away from, or at least tend not to move toward, the dispensing opening, and/or any conveying effect that may be present as a function of the design of the stirrer can be compensated for by the tilting of the storage tank.

Provision is expediently made for an actuating element for actuation of a pivoting motion of the ice storage tank between the two positions. With the aid of the actuating element an automatic tilting of the ice storage tank toward the position in which the dispensing opening is lower can be actuated when a user wishes to dispense ice, and likewise back to the higher position when the dispensing of ice is to be stopped.

The stirrer is preferably rotatable about an axis that extends in the longitudinal direction of the storage tank.

According to a first embodiment the stirrer is a rod with an undulating profile in one plane. A stirrer of this type does not of itself deploy a conveying effect in the direction of its axis of rotation, but rather a preferred direction for the movement of the icecubes can be specified through the inclination of the base of the ice storage tank. Accordingly the base of the ice storage tank expediently slopes down toward the dispensing opening in one of the two positions, while in the other position it rises toward the dispensing opening.

According to a second embodiment the stirrer is helical in shape. As a function of the helical shape, the rotation of a stirrer of this type has a conveying effect on icecubes in the ice storage tank in parallel to the axis of rotation. In order to ensure that no ice is forced toward the dispensing opening if the dispensing of ice is not desired, the stirrer can expediently be capable of rotating in opposite directions.

The rotational direction of the stirrer is expediently linked to the position of the ice storage tank. In order to enable the use of a simple drive motor to actuate the stirrer, with said motor having a single sense of rotation, a switching gear mechanism linked to the position of the ice storage tank can be provided in particular between the motor and the stirrer.

Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description of exemplary embodiments provided below, with reference to the attached figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-section through a domestic refrigeration appliance with an ice dispenser in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through the ice dispenser along the Line A in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a similar cross-section to FIG. 2 according to a second embodiment; and

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section along the line B from FIG. 1 according to the second embodiment.

The refrigeration appliance shown in schematic cross-section in FIG. 1 has a heat-insulating body 1 and a door 2 that delimit an interior 3. The temperature of the interior 3 is kept below 0° C. by means of an evaporator that is accommodated in a separate evaporation chamber 4 in the upper region of the body 1. An automatic ice-maker 5 is arranged directly adjacent to the evaporation chamber 4 within the interior 3 so that said ice-maker 5 can preferably be subject to the action of cold air from the evaporation chamber 4. In a known manner, and as has not been shown in detail in the figure, the ice-maker 5 comprises several mold containers, means for automatically feeding water into the mold containers, and means for automatically ejecting the finished icecubes from the mold containers. A storage chamber 6 of an ice-dispensing module 7 is arranged with an upward-facing opening below the ice-maker 5, with the ejected icecubes being collected in said storage chamber 6. The ice-dispensing module 7 extends over the majority of the depth of the interior 3 and can be for example injection molded as a single piece from plastic or assembled from several injection-molded elements. An electric motor 10 for actuating a stirring rod 9 is accommodated in a rear recess 8 in the ice-dispensing module 7. The electric motor 10 can be mounted permanently in the refrigeration appliance or can be integrated in, and removable with, the ice-dispensing module 7. The stirring rod 9 extends in a longitudinal direction through the whole of the storage chamber 6 and/or depthwise into the interior 3.

The ice-dispensing module 7 is suspended pivotably in the interior 3 about a horizontal axis 11 which, in the embodiment shown here, is adjacent to a rear end of the ice-dispensing module 7. Other positions of the axis 11 are also possible depending on the placing of the ice-maker 5 within the interior 3. With the aid of an actuating element (not shown), for example an electric motor with a worm gear, the evaporation module 7 can be pivoted between an idle position (shown in FIG. 1 with continuous lines) and a dispensing position (shown as a dashed line). In the idle position an dispensing opening 12 arranged at the door-side end of the ice-dispensing module 7 is higher than most of the storage chamber 6. The base of the storage chamber slopes depthwise in the body 1 toward the rear, so that icecubes in the storage chamber 6 tend to accumulate at the end to the rear of the storage chamber 6. This makes it possible to cause the stirring rod 9 to rotate at specified intervals independently of a user's desire to dispense icecubes, and thus to keep the icecubes in the storage chamber 6 moving and, where applicable, to separate them from each other without them escaping via the dispensing opening. As additional protection against the egress of ice a flap (not shown) can be provided at the dispensing opening 12 that is closed in the idle position and open in the dispensing position.

When a user indicates, by pressing a button 20 on the outside of the door 2, their desire for ice to be dispensed, a control circuit (not shown) reacts firstly by triggering the actuating element to tilt the ice-dispensing module 7 to a position shown in FIG. 1 with a dashed line, in which position the base of the storage chamber 6 slopes toward the door 2 and the dispensing opening 12 comes to rest at a channel 13 that extends through the door 2 into a recess 14 that is open at its front side. The control circuit then opens a flap 15 that is arranged in the channel 13 and is normally closed to prevent the penetration of warm outside air from the recess 14 into the interior 3. The control circuit also triggers the electric motor 10, and the rotation of the stirring rod 9 causes the icecubes in the storage chamber 6 to move to the dispensing opening 12. The user signals when sufficient ice has been dispensed by releasing or pressing the button 20 again, at which point the control circuit stops the electric motor 10 and the ice-dispensing module 7 pivots back to the position indicated with a continuous line.

At the back wall of the recess 14 a water tank 16 is embedded in the insulation material for the door 2. The water tank 16 is connected on one side, like the ice-maker 5, to the drinking water main via a supply pipe 17 and a stop valve 18, and on the other side to a tap connection 19 in the recess 14.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through the ice-dispensing module 7 along the plane indicated in FIG. 1 by A in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. Here the stirring rod is realized as a metal rod that is bent in a zigzag form in a parallel plane to its axis of rotation. This stirring rod has no chirality, and so a preferred direction of movement of the icecubes set in motion by said stirring rod is determined solely by the incline of the base of the storage chamber 6.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section along the plane indicated in FIG. 1 by A in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. Here the stirring rod 9 is helical and its counter-clockwise rotation propels icecubes in the storage chamber 6 in the direction of the dispensing opening 12. Conversely a clockwise rotation of the stirring rod 9 pushes the icecubes away from the dispensing opening 12 in the direction of the rear end of the storage chamber 6. The effect of the tilting movement of the ice-dispensing module 7 described above with reference to FIG. 1 can therefore also be assisted insofar as the rotational direction of the stirring rod 9 is controlled according to the specific position of the ice-dispensing module 7.

Controlling of the rotational direction in this way can be achieved by electronic means if the electric motor 10 supports different rotational directions. However a simple electric motor with a fixed rotational direction can also be employed, the rotation of which is transmitted via a gear mechanism to the stirring rod 9 as a function of the position of the ice-dispensing module 7.

FIG. 4 shows an example of such a gear mechanism with the aid of a cross-section along the plane B shown in FIG. 1. The section plane extends through a gap between the motor 10 and a back wall of the storage chamber 6. A toothed wheel 21 that is non-rotationally fixed at one end of the stirring rod 9 and a wheel disk 22 that is actuated by the electric motor 10 are located in this gap. At its front surface that faces the storage chamber 6 the wheel disk 22 has a broad circumferential groove 23 that is toothed around its inner and outer periphery and the breadth of which is selected such that the toothed wheel 21 can only interlock with one of the two sets of teeth 24, 25 in the groove 23. While the mounting of the motor 10 and the wheel disk 22 in the interior 3 is fixed, the height of the toothed wheel 21 varies according to the position of the ice-dispensing module 7. The configuration shown in FIG. 4, in which the toothed wheel 21 is interlocking with the inner set of teeth 24 of the wheel disk 22, corresponds to the position in which the ice-dispensing module 7 is rising toward the door. The number of teeth on the toothed wheel 21 and on the inner set of teeth 24 is equal so that a slow rotation of the stirring rod 9 with a high torque can be actuated and any icecubes that have frozen solid can be broken apart easily. If the ice-dispensing module 7 is pivoted to the position in which it slopes toward the door, the toothed wheel 21 engages with the outer set of teeth 25 and thus, although the rotational direction of the wheel disk 22 remains constant, is actuated with a reversed sense of rotation so that the icecubes in the storage chamber 6 are conveyed to the dispensing opening 12. Furthermore since the number of teeth on the outer set of teeth 25 is a multiple of that of the inner set of teeth 24, in this case the stirring rod 9 rotates rapidly with reduced torque so that after the motor 10 is actuated the icecubes reach the dispensing opening 12 with little delay and can be dispensed in quick succession.

In the embodiments described above the icecubes move directly from the storage chamber 6 to the dispensing opening 12. Provision can of course also be made for a crushing chamber (not shown in the figures) between the storage chamber 6 and the dispensing opening, which the icecubes would have to pass through en route to the dispensing opening 12 and in which they would be crushed by a grinder. 

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A refrigeration appliance comprising: a housing that encloses an interior; and, an ice storage tank, the ice storage tank being located in the interior and having a dispensing opening and a stirrer, and the ice storage tank is movable between two positions with the height of the dispensing opening in one of the positions being different than the height of the dispensing opening in the other of the positions.
 10. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 9 and further comprising an actuating element for actuation of a pivoting motion of the ice storage tank between the two positions.
 11. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 9, wherein the stirrer is rotatable about an axis that extends in a longitudinal direction of the storage tank.
 12. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 11, wherein the stirrer is a rod with an undulating profile in one plane.
 13. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 11, wherein a base of the ice storage tank slopes down toward the dispensing opening in one of the two positions and in the other position rises toward the dispensing opening.
 14. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 12, wherein the stirrer is helical in shape.
 15. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 14, wherein the stirrer is capable of rotating in opposite directions.
 16. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 14, wherein the rotational direction of the stirrer is linked to the position of the ice storage tank. 